Auburn Hills, Mich. – The “nasty crowd” at the Palace of Auburn Hills could get nasty with Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy tonight.
Van Gundy took several verbal shots at the Detroit Pistons’ fans in two South Florida newspapers Friday. The Pistons’ fans are widely known for their role in one of sports’ ugliest incidents, as everything from beer to punches were thrown at Indiana Pacers players during a game Nov. 19.
Van Gundy and the Heat make their first appearance at the arena for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. The series is tied.
“Detroit, even in the regular season, has a particularly nasty crowd,” Van Gundy said in comments published by The Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. “They’re not just loud. Those people will say anything and do anything. … I have never understood the idea (that) because I bought a ticket to the game, I can sit there and yell anything I want. …
“It’s always sort of funny to look around in the stands and see somebody sitting with their 10-year-old kid yelling profanities at you,” Van Gundy said, according to The Palm Beach Post story. “I always thought, ‘That was a great role model.”‘
Van Gundy said in Detroit and New York “you get some of the absolute nastiest people.” He said the Palace was “no louder than anywhere else,” but the Heat was verbally tested by fans during two regular-season games this season. He also blasted the security.
“I don’t think their security people cared,” Van Gundy said, referring to Nov. 19. “The thing worked out great for them, to be quite honest. … There aren’t very many arenas where you specifically hear people yelling profanities and vulgar things at you.
“You just hear people yelling, but Detroit’s a different place.”
Detroit could be a different place tonight because of Van Gundy’s comments. The Palace usually has vocal fans behind the visitors’ bench. It will be interesting to see how they respond when Van Gundy enters the floor and is introduced.
“That’s the wrong thing to say, especially in the papers,” Detroit forward Rasheed Wallace said. “That’s just adding fuel to the fire. It’s the truth though – our fans are behind us 100 percent. I know they’re going to make it hectic for them.”
Detroit guard Chauncey Billups says Pistons fans are the NBA’s best, but also acknowledged it was tough to play there as an opponent.
“We have the best fans in the game,” said Billups, a Denver native. “I think that’s a compliment, that other coaches around the league even worry about coming here and playing against my team. Not only because of us but because of our fans and how loud they are and how rowdy they are. You got the right to do that if you’re a fan. You don’t have the right to put your hands on nobody or throw something. But you have the right to be a fan and enjoy yourself at the game.
“I could remember coming here before I was a Piston and remembering that they do have tough crowds. When you’re not doing something, they are going to let you know about it.”
When asked if athletes need to have a thick skin toward vocal fans, Wallace said: “To a certain extent you have to. But us (players) as fans also, sometimes when I’m watching football games, I’m cussing the guys out. You can’t take it personal.”
With the next two games at home, the defending champion Pistons are hoping to use the crowd to their advantage.
“We want to just come out and feed off our fans,” Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. “This is a great opportunity for us to take advantage of this moment.”
Said Billups: “I don’t know why Van Gundy is bringing up (our fans). But you got to come back up here and play two games, that’s the bottom line.”
Footnotes
Billups hopes to attend his brother Rodney’s graduation from the University of Denver on Friday, but it depends on how the series goes. Rodney also played basketball at DU and hopes to play professionally overseas. … Hamilton, still hampered by an injured right calf, is shooting 34.9 percent in the series. “I have a lot of open shots,” he said. “But sometimes I shoot off one leg because of my calf.” … Hamilton retrieved his pit bull Shark from an animal shelter Friday after the dog ran away Thursday, ending up 3 miles from Hamilton’s Auburn Hills- area home. “That’s my homey. We came into this league together,” Hamilton said of Shark.
